From Victor Osula, Abuja
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has said the illegal removal of LGA chairmen by state governors is a treasonable offence.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of an event organised by the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Fagbemi warn governors to stop interfering with the administration at the third tier of governance.
Fagbemi, represented by Tijani Gazali, director of civil appeals in the ministry, criticised the growing trend of governors interfering in local government administration in their states, accusing them and state assemblies of acting in defiance of the constitution and a supreme court ruling that prohibits their interference in LGAs.
He said, “It is unfortunate that over the last few decades in Nigeria, in plain contradiction of the constitutional mandates of state governments, local governments have now seen a great decline as they are nothing but a mere appendage of the state governments, merely existing as a means of supplying extra funds for the state governments,” he said.
“The most unfortunate of the decline is the unconstitutional connivance by state governors and their state houses of assemblies to willing democratically elected local government structures without recourse to the rule of law and replacing them with their candidates.
“It is unfortunate that over the last few decades in Nigeria, in plain contradiction of the constitutional mandates of state governments, local governments have now seen a great decline as they are nothing but a mere appendage of the state governments, merely existing as a means of supplying extra funds for the state governments.”
According to him, the most unfortunate cause of the decline is the unconstitutional collusion between the governors and their state houses of assemblies to willing destroy democratically elected local government structures without recourse to the rule of law and replacing them with their candidates.
His criticism is coming on the heels of the ongoing mayhem in Osun state following the selective interpretation of a valid court judgement on local government in the state. The hovering Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, maintains that the court did not ask the sacked LGA chairmen to return while the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, disagrees, leading to clashed between supporters, which led to the death of a Chairman and injuries to many.
The Appeal Court recently nullified an earlier judgment of the High Court, which had ruled that the tenure of the local government chairmen was illegal.
However, the appellate court did not make a consequential order reinstating them.
Similarly in Edo State, Governor Monday Okpebholo, leaning on a committee’ s report saying the LGA chairmen embezzled N96 billion, said he would sack the suspended Chairmen.
